In 1968, Ruth Kaufman, a 45 year old elementary school teacher, and her two teenaged children, David and Nita, fled the comforts of their middle class American lifestyle to embark on what would become a precarious fourteen-month journey to some of the most impoverished and volatile parts of the world. At a time when the United States and Russia, bristling with nuclear weapons, had forced the global community into the deep-freeze of the Cold war, and as human beings were relentlessly killing each other in Vietnam, Ruth was determined to find the best in humanity. With her humble spirit and precocious nature, flanked by the innocent curiosity and enthusiasm of her children - all of which magnificently shines through in Becoming Ruth - A World Citizen - she boldly stepped into lands, cultures, lives and hearts. "I was a woman hungry for new experiences through the hearts and minds of the world's people", says Ruth.
Together, the trio peered behind the Iron Curtain of the then mysterious and vilified world of communist Russia, discovering ordinary people rather that ideological enemies. Hitching rides by land and water, their remarkable journey also took them through Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, England, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Mombasa, Nairobi, Haryana, Poona, Goa, Ceylon, (Sri Lanka), Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. Ruth Kaufman describes in detail their unforgettable experiences in villages and towns, homes and hamlets of the everyday people that they had met along the way, bonding with their new friends while sharing their hearts and stories, indeed their humanity, in a way that beautifully transcended their cultural differences and the chaotic world of 1960's power politics.
While Ruth and her children made deep and abiding friendships with their global neighbors, they also had some scary encounters, including being held as prisoners for three days on a ship in Bombay Harbor, mistakenly accused of smuggling gold from Africa. Yet their perilous adventures simply enriched their journey - a voyage that brought them face-to-face, heart-to-heart- with humanity, friendship, love and the world.
"Why isn't everybody an activist? Ruth questions. "Our country needs individuals to take action, our government does not care enough for the people in our country. Instead of the billions of dollars going to the Iraq war; the people who lost their home from Katrina need new housing and life support." Ruth learned her activism and humanitarian values from her mother who helped organize the Union for Social Workers. When asked how she wants to be remembered, Ruth replied, "Courage has been another name for me, and fear is an unkown factor. I speak out for what I believe is right and offer my help when needed." Since her recorded journey around the world, Ruth has taught English to Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong, meditated in a Thai monastery, worked as a TV and radio reporter in Bethel, Alaska, climbed Machu Picchu in Peru, and lived in an aboriginal settlement in Australia. As a journalist she wrote a column in a Georgia newspaper. She is the author of Ode to an Ailing Marriage. Ruth has two living daughters, Nita and Lori, and a son, David. She has three grandsons, and two great-granddaughters. Ruth lives in Staunton, Virginia.
